Review: Trojan #1 (of 4)

For the uninitiated, comic books are all about superheroes, capes and cowls where the good guy always win. Of course, for those “in the know”, we are fully aware that comics come in all shapes, sizes and genre’s. With the recent influx of books like Gun Honey and Lovesick, sex has become more prevalent as a means to various ends, be it sex and violence, sex with domination and consent issues. Trojan, from AWA, despite its Preview World description trawls a similar theme.

The world has changed once more. Now longer a place for the the diversity of the world; the legends of yesteryear have been trodden down to the gutter like living. Into this world, we are introduced to Nessa who seeks a way out for her dying mother. In doing so, she unfurls herself to those desiring the most shocking off Dark Web (not the Spider-Man / X-Men type) fantasies.

Writer Daniel Kraus takes his time in setting up this world where shades of grey ambiguity ensures survival. It is into this world of deeds not as dark as other deeds that Nessa walk. Kraus uses her interactions as a means to inform the reader as to the lay of the land, which includes the horror element brought on by having very little choice. Under Kraus, Nessa is something of a aberration of sorts; her choices and her reason build on the foundations of this dark world. Here the writing can be wordy, meandering in a way that times you may wish Kraus would get to the point. This is a trifle harsh; I am sure that in between the the various points of view there are nuggets of plot developments down the line.

The art from Laci is gorgeous, horrific, terrifying and depressingly sad. In this case, that is exactly as it should be. The world in Trojan is not a happy place. Laci recognises this and bring to life the darkest, dirtiest, slummiest parts of any city you will have seen in quite. while. As with the writing, there is an oddity to the art, an opposite if you will. This is in the shape and face of Nessa who seems too beautiful to exist in this world. There is a plan by utilising this not quite a mash of styles. For Nessa’s request to carry the require weight to engender true horror, Laci needs to set Nessa as a paragon of sorts. iN places, Laci’s art reminds me of the Mike Deodata Jr’s art from AWA. The colors from Marco Lesko also helps to create the dark on top of dark environments with a turgid stream of colors. There is no letterer credited; so for AWA letter’s don’t even get actual credit never mind cover credit!

This book has a disturbing theme intertwined throughout, which may not be obvious from the Preview World description. To enjoy the book you are going to have be ready for mature content, which you may find disturbing; disturbing demonstrates the excellent world creating wiring of Daniel Kraus.

Writing – 5 Stars

Art – 5 Stars

Colors – 5 Stars

Overall – 5 Stars

Written by; Daniel Kraus
Art by; Laci
Colors by; Marco Lesko
Letters by: ????
Published by; Artist Writers & Artisans (AWA)

Author Profile

Johnny "The Machine" Hughes

I am a long time comic book fan, being first introduced to Batman in the mid to late 70's. This led to a appreciation of classic artists like Neal Adams and Jim Aparo. Moving through the decades that followed, I have a working knowledge of a huge raft of characters with a fondness for old school characters like JSA and The Shadow

Currently reading a slew of Bat Books, enjoying a mini Marvel revival, and the host of The Definative Crusade and Outside the Panels whilst also appearing on No-Prize Podcast on the Undercover Capes Podcast Network